Srinagar: Face of pellet woes in Kashmir, Insha Mushtaq, who was blinded by the pellet fury in Kashmir during 2016 uprising has cleared her 10th class examination.

The results were announced on Tuesday by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) and Insha Mushtaq qualified the examination.

Pertinently, Insha became the face of the plight of 2,500-odd victims of the pellet gun and photos of her in black glasses sparked an international debate, triggering questions about the allegedly reckless use of the weapon to control crowds during protests.

Insha, was peering out of the window of her home in Shopian’s Sedow village on 11 July, 2016 when a hail of pellets fired by security personnel hit her, plunging her world into darkness.

Insha was studying in 10th class when the incident left her completely blinded making the  chances of her appearing in the examination very bleak.

However, Insha did not give up and continued her studies. She was finally allowed to appear in examination and was allowed to take the services of a helper to write her exams.

Insha’s teacher had fixed a class 9 student to “write” her paper and got it cleared by the authorities to allow the procedure.

Reacting on the result, her father Mushtaq Ahmad Lone said that their “happiness knew no bounds”.

“This (result) is beyond our expectations. The results will inspire Insha to study more,” he said.

In February last year, Insha returned to her home after months of treatment at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital Mumbai and many other hospitals for brain infection and surgeries that attempted to bring back some vision in her left eye. Her right eye was completely eviscerated due to the injury.

A tutor had come to her house every day, read aloud to her from the books and Insha recorded what he narrated. Later, she would play the recording, try to comprehend and remember it.

Meanwhile, following the announcement of results, former chief minister and MLA Beerwah Omar Abdullah congratulated Insha Mushtaq for clearing her tenth board examinations.

In a tweet, Abdullah said: “A special shout out to young Insha who was blinded by pellets during the 2016 protests & has cleared her 10th exams today. May Allah keep rewarding your hard work & efforts.

“Congratulations to all the boys & girls who cleared their Class 10 exams in J&K. Good luck for the future & I hope you continue to pursue your education,” he tweeted.

Pertinently, a total of 43464  students qualified the examination with a pass percentage of 62.94  against 69056  number of students who had appeared in the examination.

Guest